Captivation
by eternallywishing
Summary: A glance into her eyes, and he was captivated.


_A/N: I apologize for not updating for so long. _

_Here is a oneshot I wrote for the Shinsenlove Livejournal Drabble Meme. It is...HijikataxChizuru again. _

_It contains slight spoilers for the Zuisouroku game and the Sekkaroku OVA. It's not extremely major though. Just the basic stuff. For those who don't know and do want to know, Chizuru basically dresses up in her geisha/geiko costume from HSK to infiltrate Shimabara for some Shinsengumi stuff and to find her father. Yeah. That's basically it._

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><p>Silk upon silk, layered on top of one other. A flamboyant <em>obi<em>, a flowery _nagajuban_ peeking from under the glossy red collar. Her shiny black hair, twisted and pulled up into an extravagant hairstyle, with delicate hairpins and ribbons hanging off her lustrous black locks. Her lips and eyelids had been painted a delicate shade of red, accenting her eyes and pale skin. Her cheeks were tinged crimson, and as she shyly lifted her head up, he was captivated.

This was not the small, cheerful, and kind girl he had lived with, protected, and taken care of for a year. The person standing before him was a woman, one with enough strength and courage to volunteer her own self to sneak into Shimabara and act as a spy.

And a damn beautiful one at that.

A small voice emitted from her red lips. "W-well?"

His mouth parted, but no words came out. He cleared his throat and tried again. "It's perfect, Chizuru. No one will realize that you're not a real one. You look exactly like a genuine _geiko_."

"I-Is that so?" Chizuru stuttered, her cheeks flushing pink. "I'm glad, then. I can finally help out the Shinsengumi to capture the _ronin_."

"Indeed," Hijikata agreed. "And we thank you for that, Chizuru. But you should also keep an eye out for Koudou-_san_ as well. I'm sure he wants to see you as well, and vice versa. "

"Yes," she nodded. "I'm hoping to find _Otou-sama_ here tonight as well. It's been a long time since I last spoke to him…"

"Give it your best, Chizuru," he said. "I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for if you try."

Chizuru's mouth slowly turned up. "Thank you, Hijika—"

"Whoa~ Chizuru-_chan_ is really cute today, huh~." Souji slid open the paper door, his trademark smirk and snide tone plastered on his face. "But aren't you a little greedy, Hijikata-_san_? Keeping her all to yourself and not sharing her with us. You're so mean, Hijikata-_san_."

"Souji!" Hijikata barked. "Watch your mouth."

"Eh? Don't say that, Hijikata-_san_. After all, I'm not the only one who wanted to see Chizuru-_chan_ as a _geiko_." Souji casually stepped aside, his grin growing even wider. "Isn't that right, boys?"

"Tch! We've been discovered. And by Souji at that," a voice grumbled. "Oh well, cover's blown, too bad. Chizuru-_chan_! Show us your pretty little self."

"Nagakura-_san_! Harada-_san_! Heisuke-_kun_!"

"Quite the pretty one tonight, aren't you?" Nagakura leaned closer to the black-haired woman, a smirk that could rival Souji's stretched across his face. "You really do look like a _geiko_, Chizuru-_chan_. Once you finish with this mission, you should wear this all the time and entertain us at night! We'd save money going to Shimabara as well. Hey, how about it?"

"Shinpachi. Stop blatantly flirting with Chizuru," Harada commanded. "No wonder you don't have a girl yet. You probably scare off every single one you meet."

"That's right!" Heisuke put in. "Back off, Shinpat-_san_! Chizuru, are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine, Heisuke-_kun_. Don't worry about me, really. Nagakura-_san_ was just teasing, that's all. You don't need to take it so seriously."

"See? Even Chizuru-_chan_ sides with me," Nagakura nodded, an air of self-righteousness surrounding him. "Isn't that right, Saitou?"

"…"

Nobody else had noticed the dark-haired, dark-clothed man enter the room. As heads slowly turned, Nagakura continued with his victorious spiel. "See, Saitou agrees with me. He'll side with me. Look. Saitou, isn't Chizuru-_chan_ gorgeous today? Isn't she cute?"

Silence fell as all eyes turned to stare at Saitou for a response. It felt as if an eternity passed before…

"She's cute."

Another pregnant pause settled around them. Chizuru's cheeks flushed even darker. "Ah…um…you didn't need to…"

"Hajime-_kun—_"

"Hey, hey." Hijikata stood up, an unreadable expression across his face. "You know…I've been kind of nice and understanding since you guys got here, but…I need you guys to understand something. This is strictly business related, and seeing that that business is about to start soon, I'd like you guys to get out, get to your posts, and get to work. Understand? Good. Now go."

With a large amount of grumbling (minus Saitou, who obeyed orders in his usual manner), the group of men exited the room. As the door slid shut, the two people left both let out a sigh that they had been holding in. Hijikata glanced up, an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry about that, Chizuru."

"Oh, no, it's really nothing at all. It's fine, really." She briefly dipped her head, the ornaments on her hair swaying as she did so. "Thank you for worrying about me, but I'm fine."

"Is that so?" Hijikata responded. "Well, I don't really blame those guys. You look very beautiful tonight, Chizuru."

"Eh?" She seemed slightly taken aback, and the flush on her cheeks that had started to go away came back. "H-Hijikata-_san_…"

"You really do," he simply said. "Chizuru."

Chizuru felt as if her ears were burning. "Hi…Hijikata-_sa—"_

"Vice Commander. Yukimura-_kun_. It's time." Yamazaki coolly slid open the paper door. He glanced at her and nodded. "Osen-_san_ and Kimigiku -_san_ are waiting for Yukimura-_kun_ in the next room."

"Ah, yes!" Chizuru hastily stood up, almost tripping over her robe. "Oh, um…I'll see you, Hijikata-_san_."

"Yeah. I'll see you soon, don't worry. I'll be there with you," he reassured. "Yamazaki, I'll let you take care of things for the time being."

"Understood."

The paper door closed. In turn, Hijikata stood up and picked up his heavy metal swords from his side. He held them up to the air for a moment, his eyes as hard as steel, before tucking them into his sash. He then slid open the door himself, and vanished into the dark night.

_Someday, Chizuru, I'll tell you everything. I'll tell you what I left untold today. I'll tell you that you're more than just beautiful—that you're the most beautiful person I've laid my eyes on. I want to always be by your side and be the one who you rely on. I want to protect you with my own two hands, no matter how much blood I must spill to do that. And I want tell you what I've always wanted to say, Chizuru. I'll tell you those three words that I've been holding in for so long._

_I love you._

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><p><em>Nagajuban: Under-kimono.<em>

_Obi: Kimono sash._

_Geiko: Kyoto word for a geisha. _

_**...Reviews Are Appreciated, Thank You...**  
><em>


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